Obesity in Children

The increase in obesity among children is considered one of the greatest health problems in the U.S in contemporary times. Obesity in children increases the risk of heart attack in the developing adults. Despite being the role of parents to take the blame for the increasing child obesity, schools, government entities and fast food outlets should also take a given level of responsibility since the reduction of child obesity will require the participation of all these entities (Parker et al para. 8).

In many societies, the eating habits that surround children affect their weight development issues. Schools, families and, various social systems all play a role in determining the eating habits and subsequently the weight developed by children. Since most children are affected by obesity due to poor eating habits such as consumption of excess calories and lack of physical exercise, it is essential for school management authorities to engage more in educating children concerning the impacts of their habits.

Schools managements should be able to control the type of diet served to students since they are aware of the impacts that poor health has on students in spite excellent academic performance. The blame placed on school for child obesity is due to the fact that schools allow unhealthy food choices to be made for students and also limit their engagement in physical activity. Focus on academic performance without consideration of physical activity creates academically endowed but unhealthy children. Replacement of available games time with tuition has had a very detrimental impact on the health of the children, resulting in happiness among parents due to good academic performance and sorrow due to the poor health of the students.

From a research by Nichols and Carol (33), most parents in today’s world prefer to feed their children on fast foods which are easily accessible due to their busy schedules. The fast foods are only rich in energy giving nutrients which lead to fat accumulation when consumed with poor exercise habits. Children who consume such fast foods also engage in computer games without having time for intense physical activities.

This implies that they consume excess calories which they do not utilize, increasing the risk of obesity. Another factor that has led to the increased consumption of fast foods is the advertisement of fast foods carried out by the outlets. While this improves the fast food sales, it is also very detrimental to the health of the buyers hence the outlets should be blamed for child obesity.

Failure of governments to provide effective school policies which ensure that physical activity is included in the school curricular. Moreover, it is the mandate of the government to ensure that the set policies are implemented for the good of all citizens. Due to the failure of the government to implement this in schools, the fast food companies are at liberty to exploit the school going children based on their unhealthy offers. The schools have also failed to make right choices for their students leading to the obesity blames.

The blames on schools and the government notwithstanding, it is also the responsibility of parents to make right choices for their children. It is not sufficient for parents to provide food for their children; the meals should be of right nutritional value towards the protection of those children from obesity. The issue of child obesity is thus a national challenge that can only be addressed through the involvement of all responsible parties.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Nichols, Carol. “Diabetes in Children.” Australian Nursing Journal 16, 1(2008), 33. ProQuest Central. Web. 24 Feb 2013.

Parker, James and Phillip Parker. Juvenile Diabetes, A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References, n.p: ICON Health Publications, 2004. EBook Collection (EBSCOHost). Web. 24 Feb 2013.

 

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